Customer Led Innovation

We are curious about people. How they live, where they live, what they do and how they use things. This is where hidden insights wait to be uncovered. We are curious not only with the function and performance of our products but with the emotional role they play in peoples lives. For us, design is not a self-serving goal; it is a human endeavour to make life better. Continuous innovation is part of the Fisher & Paykel design philosophy.

We live in a designed world and we believe everybody deserves good design. The ongoing collaboration between design engineers and customers has changed the course of appliance design for us as a company and for those who use our products day in and day out. Our future will be built on fostering this spirit of collaboration and curiosity.

Leading through Design

Design and innovation are at the centre of our business. Our design heritage is founded on a pioneering spirit and a culture of curiosity.

Our design team has been internationally awarded for their striking and innovative designs, all of which put people back at the centre.

Daniel Witten-Hannah, VP Product Development, explains the key elements of Fisher & Paykel's approach to design and Innovation: "Innovation comes from curiosity. By understanding our customers - the way people use kitchens and appliances, how they cook and eat - we have discovered insights that have made us rethink how to design appliances. "We have to be different and the only way we're really going to be different is by understanding the customer better and getting those insights of the points of difference that drive that.

Insights and Inspirations

Fisher & Paykel have been leading the world in appliance innovations since the early 1980s. Products like DishDrawer™ Dishwasher and CoolDrawer™ Multi-temperature refrigerators have not only pioneered new, compact technologies, but have changed appliance design forever. But it is what is on the inside - our SmartDrive™ motors and ActiveSmart™ refrigeration technology that really differentiates us as a company of creativity.

SmartDrive™

Our first significant leap of innovation was in washing machines. Our engineers had developed knowledge of electronic drive systems when the company designed flexible manufacturing equipment for our assembly lines. It occurred to us that we could apply that knowledge to driving appliances and so the Brushless Direct Current Motor was invented for washing machines. This allowed the development of the revolutionary Smart Drive™ technology, which is the platform for all of our washing machine ranges.

DishDrawer™ Dishwasher

Around the same time, this same washer technology was evolving into an entirely new idea - a dishwasher in a drawer - what we called a DishDrawer™. Over time, Fisher & Paykel have refined the technology in DishDrawers™ to create the quietest, most efficient and best cleaning 7th generation DishDrawer™.

ActiveSmart™

In refrigeration, world-first ActiveSmart™ technology was developed that improves refrigerator performance. ActiveSmart™ continuously adjusts the flow of cold air into your fridge and freezer by responding to your daily use and climatic conditions, ensuring it constantly maintains optimum temperatures throughout your fridge for the freshest, finest, nutrient rich foods.

CoolDrawer™

Taking the idea of the flexible DishDrawer™ and ActiveSmart™ refrigeration technology, our engineers developed the CoolDrawer™, a multi-temperature drawer-based fridge. It can be placed anywhere in the kitchen, home or entertainment area and the CoolDrawer™ provides five temperature settings to deliver total flexibility - fridge, freezer, chill, pantry and wine mode, combining intelligence with convenience.

CookSurface™

In cooking, we developed CookSurface™ where retractable trivets allow a flat ceramic glass surface ensuring easy cleaning. We changed the way people think about gas cooktops.

Award-Winning Design

As well as continuously developing new functional technologies, Fisher & Paykel has won international awards for the design of their 60cm Built-in Oven, Gas on Glass Cooktop, Kitchen Companion Products range, CoolDrawer™ and CookSurface™, supporting their commitment to creating products that look as beautiful as they work